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Snuffbox, 1760–70
Myer Myers (American, 1723–1795)
New York City
Gold; Overall: 1 1/16 x 2 7/16 x 2 3/8 in., 81.3 grams (2.7 x 6.2 x 6 cm, 2 614 troy ounces)
Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall P. Blankarn Gift, 1966 (66.102)

American snuffboxes of gold are extremely rare. On this example, the cover is decorated with a biblical scene, probably based on Samuel 16:77–22. The harp player David, sent by his father to assuage King Saul's anguished mind, appears before him with offerings of bread, wine, a donkey, and a kid. Myer Myers, the maker of this box, was a New York silversmith who also lived briefly in Norwalk, Connecticut, and Philadelphia. He is listed in the 1786 New York Directory as chairman of the New York Silversmiths' Society.


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  • Snuffbox, 1760–70
    Myer Myers (American, 1723–1795)
    New York City
    Gold; Overall: 1 1/16 x 2 7/16 x 2 3/8 in., 81.3 grams (2.7 x 6.2 x 6 cm, 2 614 troy ounces)
    Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall P. Blankarn Gift, 1966 (66.102)